Latest news with #cleanup
CBS News
2 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
Shedd Aquarium staff and volunteers take action to clean up Chicago beaches
Shedd Aquarium staff and volunteers on Wednesday took action, cleaning up along Chicago's lakefront. Volunteers spent the day picking up trash, weighing it, and getting it off the beach at 12th Street Beach, in part to keep plastics out of Lake Michigan. Last year, similar cleanup efforts removed nearly 6,000 pounds of trash from Chicago's beaches. Bucket in hand and mission in mind, volunteer Daniel Gerstung was one of several volunteers cleaning up 12th Street Beach, working with Shedd Aquarium staff on one of their frequent Action Days to keep Chicago beaches trash-free. "Seeing plastic on the beach is really upsetting; so being able to be at this opportunity is really, really great," he said. Jaclyn Wegner, the Shedd's director of conservation action, was leading the charge. "It does make a big difference," she said. Shedd staff and volunteers itemized and the trash, filling buckets, and sharing data with organizations studying pollution issues in the Great Lakes. "It's estimated that about 22 million pounds of plastic enter the Great Lakes annually," Wegner said. A recent study from the Alliance for the Great Lakes found 86% of the litter in the Great Lakes contains plastic. Another study found microplastics in every single species of fish sampled in the Great Lakes, but it's not just fish that are ingesting microplastics. "It ends up in our drinking water. … The Great Lakes is drinking water for 40 million people in our region, so it is ending up in our drinking water, and it's also impacting wildlife health," Wegner said. A danger to our greatest resource, our health, and native wildlife, but trash on the beaches isn't just a Chicago problem. Experts said the Chicago River can transport plastic downstream to the Mississippi River and eventually the ocean. Their message ahead of the busy July 4th holiday weekend? "We definitely are expecting to see a lot of trash left behind and it just takes a lot of work to clean up after folks, and we hope that we can try to prevent that," Wegner said. It's one reason the Shedd is working with local restaurants and businesses to limit plastic products, with many of the plastic products picked up on Chicago beaches being takeout containers.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Laval residents say ‘hoarding' neighbour turned front yard into dump
Residents in a Laval neighbourhood are complaining that a front yard has turned into a dump. Residents in a Laval neighbourhood are complaining that a front yard has turned into a dump. Stuff is piling up outside the home, including propane tanks, appliances, clothing and trash. Neighbours John Cormier and Leo Leclair have lived in the area for three years and say they saw it adding up ever since they moved in. 'It's disgusting,' said Leclair. 'Someone needs to help him,' added Cormier. 'It also ruins the values of the properties in the neighbourhood.' Other neighbours are trying to help. One man who asked not to be identified said he spoke to the person who lives there and started helping him tidy up, but said he refused to throw anything away. When CTV News knocked on the door, no one answered. Given how difficult the house is to access, residents worry it could even be a fire hazard. Others in the area reported seeing rodents attracted to the mess. The neighbours believe it's a hoarding issue and say the man needs help, and that the city should intervene. The city of Laval says it fined the owner of the home and ordered them to clean up. If the owner does not comply, the city says it will do the work and bill him.
ABC News
3 hours ago
- Climate
- ABC News
More rain for sodden New South Wales
It's yet again been a chaotic 24 hours of weather as New South Wales faced scenes of downed trees, streets flooded and homes damaged. Residents and emergency services are also reckoning with the extent of the clean up ahead of them as the worst of the weather system passes.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Train derails in Wisconsin, cleanup continues while investigation is underway
HARTFORD, Wis. (WFRV) – Crews continue to clean up after a train derailment that occurred Monday, June 30th, in Washington County. The derailment happened around 9:30 a.m. and involved a train with three engines and 16 cars. All three engines left the tracks, along with several railcars. As of Tuesday afternoon, the engines had been lifted back onto the tracks with the help of cranes and excavators brought in from Rockford. State Senator Jamie Wall announces $30 million in funding for new railroad bridge in De Pere Three conductors were hospitalized with minor injuries. The derailment caused significant damage, with several cars showing signs of shattered glass, missing wheels, and bent or smashed metal. Crews are now assessing whether any of the cargo can be salvaged and have begun work on repairing the damaged track. There's approximately several thousands of gallons of diesel fuel that have spilled into the ground. There's also a nitrous oxide tank that had crashed and the outside cracked off of, but the tank has not leaked. Chief Tony Burgard, Hardford Fire & Rescue Paranormal Cirque brings horror and acrobatics to Green Bay Officials say the train was likely traveling around 40 miles per hour at the time of the incident. The exact cause of the derailment is still under investigation, and it may take up to six weeks to determine what happened. The Wisconsin Railroad Commissioner expects the site to be fully cleared and operational within two days. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Free Malaysia Today
12 hours ago
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
The Ocean Cleanup to expand Klang River rubbish-clearing effort
Boyan Slat, inventor of the Interceptor rubbish-collecting boats, on board Interceptor 002 which has been in the Klang River since August 2019. (X pic) KLANG : Environmental NGO The Ocean Cleanup plans to expand its plastic waste interception effort in the Klang River, warning that current measures are not enough to stop pollution from reaching the ocean. 'Even with two Interceptors, the volume of trash is overwhelming,' said Marco Piet, the group's rivers director. 'We plan to upgrade the systems and possibly deploy more Interceptors to boost capacity.' The Interceptors – solar-powered, autonomous vessels – have been operating in the Klang River since 2019 and 2021. They aim to capture plastic waste before it reaches the sea. A 2020 report by state-linked company Landasan Lumayan showed improved water quality in the Klang River since the Interceptors were introduced. Despite this, Piet said, a large amount of waste still escaped capture. 'Cleaning one river is not enough. We need broader solutions, better waste management, sustainability education, and strong local involvement,' he said. He called for greater cooperation from NGOs, civil society, and local communities, stressing that effective solutions must be locally driven. He was speaking at the launch of a new plastic sorting and processing facility in Klang, part of the state's Selangor Maritime Gateway (SMG) river rehabilitation project. Klang mayor Abdul Hamid Hussain said the facility would play a vital role in both waste management and environmental protection. 'It will help reduce carbon emissions, air and water pollution, and also create jobs since it will be manually operated,' he said. Landasan Lumayan managing director Syaiful Azmen Nordin said public behaviour needed to change if long-term sustainability goals were to be met. 'Interceptor boats and log booms only treat the symptoms. Real change comes from shifting public attitudes,' he said. 'This facility is also about education and building a culture of sustainability.' Natural resources and environmental sustainability ministry secretary-general Ching Thoo Kim said broader steps were being taken through the proposed Climate Change Bill to address river pollution, citing the introduction of bottle deposit machines, similar to systems in the Netherlands and Germany, as one example. 'Our dream is for the Klang River to one day be clean enough to take a boat ride all the way to Mid Valley Megamall. It may take 20 or 30 years, but that's the goal,' he said.
